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Chicago State University Confirms Tinubu’s 1979 Graduation
United States federal law and cannot disclose any additional information regarding Tinubu’s record without his consent
The Chicago State University (CSU) has reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s attendance at the university, verifying that he completed his bachelor’s degree in 1979.
On Thursday, September 14, CSU officially communicated this information through a statement provided to CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly known as CBS News.
However, the institution stated that it is bound by United States federal law and cannot disclose any additional information regarding Tinubu’s record without his consent or unless mandated by a court order.
“As an educational institution, we are sometimes asked to provide information related to student records. The federal law known as FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protects the privacy of student records and limits what an institution can release.
In August 2023, a request was made to the U.S. federal court for the university to provide information related to educational records concerning Bola Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, and a former CSU student.
The university has confirmed that Tinubu attended CSU and graduated in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree. Federal law, however, prevents us from providing any further information without consent or unless allowed to do so via court order.
“CSU is confident in the veracity and integrity of our records regarding Tinubu’s completion of graduation requirements and degree certificates. The university is not a party to the Nigerian legal proceedings that spurred this request, and a U.S. federal judge will determine whether the university will provide further requested information.
“Our response to the request for Tinubu’s academic records has been entirely consistent with our practices, policies and federal law. We would respond in exactly the same manner for any request for any student information by a third party.”
It would be recalled that Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 election, had claimed that the documents proving Tinubu’s graduation from Chicago State University in 1979 were not authentic, he cited this as a basis for potentially challenging Tinubu’s election victory.
